The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Ohio corn is in the best shape in years.

The USDA reports that more than three-fourths of Ohio’s corn crop was in good or excellent condition as of July 21 – compared to 15 percent at the same time last year when scorching heat caused a drought that threatened crops.

The soggy weather this summer has produced the best corn conditions in five years.

Morrow County farmer John Linder says corn in low-lying areas got too much water from the flooding earlier this month, but crops on higher ground should be fine.

Ohio’s corn industry supports about 34,000 jobs and generates nearly $359 million in labor income each year.

It may be raining in some parts of Ohio this morning, but that doesn’t mean the drought is over.

In fact, it’s getting so severe, it’s clear that food prices will be rising. Matt Roberts is an agricultural economist at The Ohio State University. He tells Ohio Public Radio’s Bill Cohen what could end up being the worst drought in 75 years won’t affect the price of grain products like bread and cereal as much as some other products.
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Central Ohio is expected to get one to three inches of rain during the next few days. Some areas can expect some flooding as local rivers crest later this week.

Circleville and Darbyville, both south of Columbus, are expected to experience minor flooding as the Scioto River and Big Darby Creek reach flood stage late Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Prospect, north of Columbus, is expected to experience moderate flooding. National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Kurz said Columbus is out of the woods, but the Scioto River in the area is in “action” stage.

“It’s just when some local authorities needs like a heads up that the river is rising to a certain point. The Columbus point isn’t expected to reach the flood stage. Flood stage is 24 feet and it will fall well below that, only reaching about 18 feet for the current forecast. So, not expecting any flooding, significant flooding in the Columbus area,” Kurz said.

David Meadows speaks for the Army Corps of Engineers in Huntington, W.Va. He said water from the Delaware Reservoir is released almost every day into other systems like the Scioto River as part of its water management. But Meadows said officials could cut back if flooding gets too severe.

“A lot of it is timing. We’re looking at the timing of the rain as it goes down the river. So hopefully our flows from Delaware comes right in on the tail end of those higher flows currently occurring down on the Scioto right now. And like I said, all those other reservoirs Deer Creek, Paint Creek, Alum Creek, and as we need to we’ll be cut back our operations on those,” Meadows said.

Meadows does not expect Alum Creek to flood.

Central Ohio could set a new rainfall record for April. This month, nearly 6 1/2 inches of rain fallen. The record, set in 1893, is just above 7 inches.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/04/26/scioto-river-expected-to-flood-in-circleville-prospect/feed/0flood,rainCentral Ohio is expected to get one to three inches of rain during the next few days. Some areas can expect some flooding as local rivers crest later this week.Central Ohio is expected to get one to three inches of rain during the next few days. Some areas can expect some flooding as local rivers crest later this week.WOSU Newsno1:40Students, Volunteers Plant Rain Garden At A Local Schoolhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/04/19/students-volunteers-plant-rain-garden-at-a-local-school/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/04/19/students-volunteers-plant-rain-garden-at-a-local-school/#commentsSun, 19 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000Kim Foxhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/04/19/students-volunteers-plant-rain-garden-at-a-local-school/One of many Earth Day projects in Central Ohio took place at Linworth High School in Worthington. Students and volunteers planted a rain garden. WOSU's Kim Fox reports.

]]>Over the weekend, hundreds of volunteers participated in Earth Day events throughout the Central Ohio region. More than a dozen people donated their time to help plant a rain garden at Linworth High School in Worthington. The idea for the rain garden came from Linworth alumna Sara Rampersaud. Rampersaud talks about why the rain garden is a good idea, “during periods of heavy rainfall, all the water gets sent to the sewer system which tends to overflow and when that happens in combined sewer systems, all raw sewage including hospital, industrial, human waste gets poured into our local lakes and rivers mostly the Olentangy”. The rain garden project involved several local businesses that made donations of time, labor and products. James Maze is a partner with Custom Image Landscaping. They designed the rain garden. Maze says they used mostly plants that are native to Ohio, but there are also other characteristics of the plants as well, “they don’t mind having wet feet as we call it. They don’t mind being temporarily flooded and they are also able to withstand small periods of drought.”

The completed rain garden is capable of diverting up to 36,000 gallons of water annually.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/04/19/students-volunteers-plant-rain-garden-at-a-local-school/feed/0earth,garden,rain,waterOne of many Earth Day projects in Central Ohio took place at Linworth High School in Worthington. Students and volunteers planted a rain garden. WOSU's Kim Fox reports.One of many Earth Day projects in Central Ohio took place at Linworth High School in Worthington. Students and volunteers planted a rain garden. WOSU's Kim Fox reports.WOSU Newsno1:23